Doubt and Trust
by Nomnomvore
Summary: With Yoshika and Mio depleted of magic, the witches are in desperate need of new recruits, Mio is sent to gather some potential recruits and finds a surprise. During this trouble arrives, and now all the witches must fight again. Main OCs, secret pairings
1. Chapter 1

Here is my first Strike Witches Fanfiction! There isn't enough love for this series out there! So i want to spread it with a idea that has been bouncing around in my head for a few weeks! Please read =D EDIT: I redid some of it, okay more like i redid some and added alooooot, this is the biggest chapter of anything ive ever written.., next chapter I'll be using my normal paragraphing instead of this cluster format..

Please reread if you have already =D Its a lot more added.

* * *

Despite her patience, the normally calm and orderly Mio, was near her breaking point as the cart rolled along the dirt road. She must have bumped her head a good 3 times as she fell on her side when ever the cart hit even a small pothole in the road.

~This is ridiculous...~ She thought with a sigh, she was tempted to go on foot and ask for a broom to ride on. ~This is for the missions sake.. you can endure Mio...~ She thought to herself, holding her sword in front of her, trying to enough the landscape atleast "Its been a while since I've gotten to enjoy Fuso's beauty...maybe this retirement wont be so bad.." She said quietly, resisting falling off the wagon as it hit another pothole...at least relief was in sight as her destination neared, "Such a small town...but i guess if this is where that potential witch is..." She muttered as they entered the small town of Kusamugen.

The wind seemed to be blowing from all directions as she got off the wagon, taking a second to get her legs back after sitting for so long. She took a long look around at the small village, it was quite rural looking, with old buildings and no concrete roads, just dirt and grass. In the distance in a large field there were some workers harvesting herbs this town was famous for. The place seemed quite homey though, as if it touched upon her a desire for a more simple life, away from all the fighting, but she fought so this could exist in the first place.

A couple onlookers stopped to look at her and waved, she must have been known even way out in the country. She tried to pass the wagon driver some money for the trip to be courteous, but he refused to accept it "Its a honor to be of help to a witch, i was once healed by one at a clinic, they do good work, so you keep that money." the wrinkled old driver said, urging his horses ahead as he passed through the village. Mio looked at some of the people and tried to figure out how to find the witch that seemed to be so promising, as soon as word had snaked through the country side of this person, the navy sent Mio out to search for her.~Hmm.. If only Minna was here.. She would pick her up right away if they had any talent at all...~ She thought and shrugged, she would have to search the old fashion way, it was a small town so perhaps she would run across her by chance.

Out of the corner of her eye she spotted a group of girls peeking around the corner at her, whispering not so quietly "Aki! You should go tell Yuki!" One of them whispered to the taller girl of the group, maybe Hartmann's height. She looked around 15 with long auburn hair, bright green eyes, she wore a small blue shirt and skirt that matched her eyes well with, and a not so ample bosom. If that was the witch Lucchini would be disappointed with her. As she looked over at the group they all ran away. Mio smiled as she detected at least some magical energy in that direction ~At least I'm still good for some tasks..~ She thought as she started to walk after the girls, not looking up at the sky which at first looked like a storm was coming in, but from where?

The girls rushed through a few streets and in front of a small house, and the girls who she had followed slipped inside, including the one whom the others called Aki. "You go tell Yuki and we'll slip out the side okay?" The other two girls asked "Alright, sounds fine." Aki told them with a nod, and they headed out the kitchen and assumed gone as Aki heard the door close to the side of the house. "Yuuuki!" She called out, searching around for the person. She nearly skipped to a door and knocked "What is it Aki? I'm busy." said a quiet male voice from inside. She popped into the room and looked around at the messy clutter. At a small desk in the corner was a boy that looked nearly identical to Aki, except his hair was shorter, and chest even flatter, he also wore a brown jacket over a white button up shirt and a well kept pair of pants. He had a small pair of reading glasses on that gave him a bit of librarian look as he scribbled like mad on scraps of paper. "What are you working on now? I thought you finished your last one?" She asked frowning at him, when he was working he had a tendency to neglect to take care of himself. "I started another...so sue me, it will be useful eventually." He said as he stood up, folding up the small bit of paper he was writing on he and putting his glasses on it. She walked over to lean by his ear and started to whisper into it.

After a few seconds Yuki's eyes widened "WHAT? Sh-Sh- Shes here? In town?" He said looking at her with both excitement, surprise, and a bit of fear. He quickly shook his face a bit and regained his usual calm composure. "Aki aren't you making too big a deal of this? I really doubt its her, if it is I'm sure shes just here to buy some herbs here." He said as he straighted his white button up shirt which had gotten a bit disordered in the excitement. Aki sighed "Your probably right... but you know how much the village talks about you, I wouldn't be that surprised if word made its way.." She said but stopped as Yuki glared at her slightly "Well they shouldn't talk so much then... and besides, if anyone, they would be here for you." He said and looked over at two pistols that were hanging on the wall. "Mom and Dad told me to protect you, so that's what I'm going to do, that's it." He said as he dropped the subject, trying to keep a lid on his heart, which felt like it was twisting inside his chest, and walked out of his room and heading towards the kitchen.

Mio was positive it had to be this house, she could sense no other magical energy in all directions around her, except in this building, and now that she was closer she could feel it was quite strong. She had first heard word of a genius in Fuso 4 months after the liberation of Romagna, and it took her a month to track the rumor this far, she hoped she wouldn't be disappointed, the Witches were in desperate need for new recruits. ~Too bad we lost Miyafuji as a witch.. she was getting really good.~ She thought sadly

Aki sighed as she leaned on the wall, she had made Yuki upset.. she could feel it through the bond they seemed to share as twins. She picked up one of the large sheets of paper that Yuki had stuck on the wall to protect the house he had said. It was one of his complicated drawings that she didn't understand, it just looked like a bunch of symbols and glyphs made into circles and triangles to her. But Yuki claimed to understand them, he knew what each of his drawings was for, and she didn't doubt that they did work, she had even taught her one barrier charm. She put it back quickly as she heard a knocking at the door, her mind instantly going to Major Sakamoto who she had seen, she knew that Yuki admired her alot. She made her way to the door, expecting the mailman or her friends. She took a step back as she saw Major Mio Sakamoto standing at her doorstep "M-M-M-Major Sakamoto!" She gasped staring wide eyed at her "Um, please come in, its a honor." She said trying to keep cool, she wanted Yuki to get noticed. Mio looked at the girl and smiled at her, a bit amused by her reaction. "Thank you." She said as she felt a bit accomplished ~Yes she has magic.. but shes not the biggest source here..Who else is in the house?~ She thought as she walked into the simple house, her eyes instantly drawn to the Magical drawings and diagrams hung up around the house. Aki gulped a bit "Would you like a seat? Its a pleasure to meet you..Oh! I'm Hiroaki Masayoshi." She said bowing slightly as she gestured to the small couch that was in the living room where the front door opened to.

Yuki looked around the corner and for a second his eyes showed a mix of fear and excitement, but then it was gone, but not before Mio's sharp eyes picked up on it. "Oh? We have a guest? I'll make some tea then." He said calmly, Aki sharply sat up "Wait! I'll do it, why dont you entertain our guest? Let me make the tea.." She repeated as she tried to save Mio's taste buds without her noticing. Yuki frowned at her, he could sense she was trying to put him on the spot with this "Alright Aki." He said as he walked into the living room, wth each step seeming to take a eternity for him to complete. He stopped infront of Mio and gave a polite bow "Its a honor to meet you, my name is Hiroyuki Masayoshi, you can call me Yuki if you like." He said as he sat down on a opposite chair from her. He kept eye contact with her, not wanting to seem nervous. Mio smiled at him "My name is Mio Sakamoto, though I'm guessing you already knew that." She said slyly.

Yuki nodded "Yes, your the most famous witch there is, the first to use a striker, and your long list of achievements is amazing.." He said slightly in awe, a smile played on his lips after he finished speaking. Mio could tell he was nervous, and she had a suspicion why, she could clearly tell the source of the magical energy was coming from right in front of her, or at least most of it, but her eyes couldnt believe it. When she first saw him she wondered if he was a girl, due to him looking exactly like his sister, until he spoke in a more male tone. ~I had heard of stories...it is acknowledged warlocks exist... but none have been found in at least 30 years...~ She thought and carefully tried to think of a way to tell for sure if he was a warlock. "Do you know who made these protective charms hanging up?" She asked curiously, it was a innocent enough question. Yuki stiffed a bit at her question "Um.. Most of them were made by my Mom before she left." He said, his hands clenching his knees.

Mio smiled a bit more "Most? What about the rest? Alot of these looks pretty recent, do you know who might have made them?" She asked as she continued her game of Cat and Mouse. Yuki's smile tightened as he thought of a answer for her "I May have went out to purchase them." He said keeping his hands on his lap. Mio really doubted that "Anyway, I'm in town scouting for potential magical users, I had heard a rumor about a genius in this town...Do you know anyone?" She asked purposly not using the term witch, as she wanted him to atleast be able to speak up. Yuki stood up "I'll be back in a second, I'm going to go check up on the tea." He said with a smile as he controlled his walking pace to not seem like he was hurrying off. As he entered the kitchen he glared at his sister, she knew the reason why and stayed silent. "Umm.. here's the tea." She said with a smile as she held the platter with a small tea kettle and three tea cups on it. Yuki nodded and walked back into the living room.

Sakamoto was looking around the room, examining one of the scrolls that was hanging above the fireplace "Nice isnt it? My mom made it before she left to Gallia." Aki said quietly as she thought of their parents. "Where are they? I'd certainly like to meet the witch who made this." Mio said happily, but noticed the slightly strained looks on both of the twins faces. Yuki placed the tray down "Well I'm afraid you wont be able to, they happened to be in Gallia at the time of the first Neuroi invasion." He said, and Mio noticed his voice take on a hateful tone as he said the name Neuroi like it was a curse.

"I'm so sorry to hear that.." She said with earnest disappointment, though looking around at some of the other more recent designs, her children seemed to have inherited what ever skill she had. Yuki sat down in one of the chairs, and Aki in another "Would you like some tea Major?" Yuki asked curiously as he poured the cups. Sakamoto took the cup gratefully, she was quite tired after that wagon ride, and a cup of tea does lift the spirits.

"So what brings you do this little down?" Aki asked curiously, she didn't see much of a reason for someone famous like her to be coming to their town, all they had was herbs, and that wasn't that much use to witches, as they could heal wounds with magic usually. She wondered if it was true what they said about her hidden eye... That you could see the future in it...

"To be honest, since I cant fight anymore, and we lost another member who cannot fly either, the 501st is in great need of new recruits, and rumor spread in Fuso about some talent that was holed up in some small town. And that rumor led here." She said and looked at the two siblings, hoping they caught her drift.

Yuki and Aki looked at each other for a second before frowning "Sorry, we dont know of anyone like that around here." Yuki said as he adjusted his glasses on his face, taking them off for a second as he pulled out a small white cloth and began to clean them, trying to dissuade her.

Mio looked at both of them "I dont know about that...I'm going to point out that i can still sense magic, and its coming from you both." She said looking Yuki dead in the eye with all seriousness "Your talents can be put to so much better use then working in this town.." She said shaking her head sadly.

"I can understand you noticing Aki, but why would you point me out? I'm a guy, if you didn't notice, we do look alike." He said as he put the glasses back on, his intellegent green eyes starting to look a bit defensive.

"Yes i can tell... And yes the Strike witches are mainly women, infact right now there isn't a single male witch in the world fighting. But." She said and pointed at him "That is not to say they dont exist, Warlocks are rare, but they do exist. And you Aki have quite a bit a bit of talent in you as well." She said and looked out the nearby window at the darkening sky. ~I should find somewhere to stay soon.. I'm not leaving until i get them though..~ She thought with dedication.

Yuki sighed and set his cup of tea down gently, looking Mio back "When our parents left, they told me to protect Aki, sending her into danger goes completely against that! Aki... what do you want to do?" He asked her with a frown, he sometimes took his role too seriously, so he wanted to know what she wanted to do with this.

"I.. I dont know..I want to be able to help.. But my magic skill really isn't all that good, I dont want to fight really.." She said quietly. This kind of attention on her made her uncomfortable, but deep inside she had a small want for revenge for her parents, and to protect people. "I want to sleep on it.." She mumbled softly.

Mio nodded "Alright, that is fair enough, speaking of that, do you know where a Inn is? I didn't see one in town." She said as she popped her neck lightly, even though Minna always warns her against it, it was a bad habit she didn't feel like breaking.

"No, there isn't one, but your welcome to stay here if you want." Aki and Yuki said in unison. Both of them smiled some at her at their display of twin telepathy. Yuki hoped she wouldn't poke around though, there were some of his designs he would prefer to stay a secret.

Mio nodded "Thank you for your offer, Seeing as there is no Inn I will accept your hospitality. How did you two do that?...I have heard of twins sometimes seeming to share the same thoughts.." She said quietly, her curiosity piqued.

Yuki rubbed his chin thoughtfully "Aki and me never thought about it much, we've been able to do that forever, but my hypothesis is that we unconsciously use magic to communicate on the same mental wave length, so we literally do communicate without speaking, like a mental radio." He explained as he adjusted his glasses.

Mio nodded "That is quite impressive, you two would work great as a team if you joined us." She said and sipped her tea casually. "This tea is delicious Aki, if only one of the members could make it as well..." She said shivering at the thought of some of the other drinks she had tried, like Perrine's Dandelion tea..

Aki set her empty cup down on the tray and stood up "Thank you, I'm not really a fighter though... I'll go set up a bed in the guest room for you." She said and smiled at her both of them as she excused herself.

Yuki cleared his throat quietly, wondering how to make a conversation "So.. what are the Neuroi like?" he asked curiously, he had never seen one in person before and he was quite curious about it, mainly about their weaponry. "I hear they use beams for attacks?" He questioned.

"Yes that's usually how they attack, we dont know how it works.. But its quite powerful, If witches didn't have shields we wouldn't be here." She said and shrugged "Can you use a shield?" She asked him curiously, she hadn't seen a demonstration of any kind from him, but she wondered if it was any different from a witch.

Yuki nodded and held out his hand in front of him to show a shield appear by his hand. Mio noticed something different about his shield though "I see.. its a triangle? Did you purposely make it like that? I see its also green, most shields i've seen are blue." She asked him curiously. Yuki deactivated the shield and put his hands in his lap again "No, its just something that developed, maybe because i see myself as a man of science, and the triangle is the strongest most stable shape. I dont know why its green though, maybe thats a gender thing or something, I never investigated that, It doesn't seem that important." He said and shrugged.

"I see, Well I dont know either, Warlocks are so rare no one has gotten to measure the power of one, at least its not records anywhere. Its said that only a hand full are born every generation, and of those few maybe one or two will have any talent for it." She said as she measured the power he had released in that shield

A few moments later Aki peeked around the corner in cherry blossom pajamas "I got your bed all ready, its down the hall here third door on the right, and the bathroom is the first door on the left. I'm going to head to bed myself. Good night Yuki, Sakamoto." She said as she sleepily headed off to her own room.

Yuki listened for the sound of her door closing "The only reason i even noticed and improved my magic is to protect Aki...That's all i plan to do with it unless i have to do otherwise." He said quietly as he removed his glasses and stuck them into the rim of his shirt. "You really care about your sister." Mio said feeling a bit touched by his dedication. "Shes all the family i have left, being a twin kind of makes you close also." He said and sighed. "I know you want us for the Strike Witches, and i do really admire the cause, so I'll make a deal.." he said quietly as he looked at Mio.

Mio nodded "Alright, I'm listening." She said as she focused on his intense green eyes. Yuki took a deep breath "If my sister joins, then I will join too, shes too soft a soul to let go off on her own anyway." He said and leaned back in his chair. "Okay, deal." Mio said as she stood up "I think I'm going to head to bed then." Mio said as she was pleased with the deal. Yuki nodded "Alright, good night Major." He said and waved politely as he put his glasses back on and headed back towards his room. ~Maybe if Aki says yes.. It wont all be so bad.~ He thought to himself.

* * *

Outside the sky continued to darken as a mass of dark clouds was forming in the distance of the small town, as if it was ready to swallow the town in its black embrace. There was something ominous about the sky as the sun set on the landscape, leaving it to the mercy of the dark. As the night continued flashes of lightning seemed to fill the sky from the distance of the dark mass of clouds.

Mio was awoken from a sound sleep by a thunder boom ~Something doesn't feel right...~ She thought as her senses started to bug her. She got up and got dressed again in her clothes, folding the pajamas Aki had left on her bed for her. It was a bit tight on her, but not all that bad. She headed out of her room and started to walk through the sleeping house, using her almost cat like vision to see somewhat into the dark. She noticed light coming out of the kitchen area, or to be more precise right past it. She saw that a small sliding door leading to what she assumed was a backyard, had been left open and a porch light was on. She headed out into the crisp but tense night and scanned her surroundings, she blinked as she spotted Yuki standing by a small hedge watching the raging sky in the distance.

"Something doesn't feel right..." He said quietly as he seemed to notice she was there, his magical senses must be sharp indeed. "Yes.. you noticed it too?" She asked as she wondered just what was actually happening there. Yuki sighed "Do you know what it is?" He asked her, he was feeling a bit worried about it all. "I might be able to find out.." She said as she reached up to her eye patch, lifting it up some to expose her magical eye which even glowed with a violet light, Yuki looked at her eye curiously, but didn't want to interrupt her concentration. Mio used her eye to zoom in on that active section of the sky. As she looked she gasped slightly, her lowered hand clenching and shaking a bit. "Dammit! Dammit all!" She yelled as she looked around rapidly "Yuki! Do you have a two way radio? I need to get in touch with base." She said frantically.

Yuki blinked "Um.. No, but there's one at the Sheriffs office in town, why what is it?" He asked worriedly. Mio clenched her teeth, she had hoped with all her heart that the day wouldn't come when she would see Neuroi over Fuso soil. "A Neuroi hive.. is forming.. I need to get some backup here, and we need to get everyone away from here!" She said as she started to think of a plan. "Just tell me where that radio is and I'll go there!" She said in a tense voice. Yuki nodded "Its down the street towards the market about two blocks down luckily, You cant miss it, its on the left side of the street." He said as he ran inside to go wake Aki up and get things together if they were going to evacuate.

Mio jumped over the fence along the side of their house and started to rush down the street ~All that running is coming in handy.~ She thought as she made her way to the radio and towards hope. She saw the office was closed and the lights were out "Dammit this is a emergency!" She said as she kicked her foot at the door of the building, breaking the door off its hinges. She started to look around for the radio, and turned the light on in a room, smiling as she found a old radio "It looks pretty beat up but it has to work.." She said as she put began to dial the bases frequency number, nearly breaking the mic as she pulled it towards her "Emergency! This is Major Sakamoto! Emergency level 5, all forces to their post! This is no drill! a Neuroi hive is forming above the Kasamura area! Requesting Immediate backup of both ground forces and what ever witches we can get here!" She yelled into the mic, probably scaring the hell out of the person watching it. "Y-yes Major! Right away!" the controller barked back, he must have been napping from the sound of his voice. ~I can only hope forces get here in time...~ She thought with dread as she pressed a button by the radio, sounding a city wide alarm system that had been set up in most towns in case of disasters.

* * *

Back at the Naval base and town that was also Miyafuji's hometown, the battle cruiser Ichiro sat in the harbor. But even though it was the night it seemed to be alive with activity, and in the base what seemed to be a small celebration seemed to be going on as in one of the buildings, the rest of the 501st, even Miyafushi were all sitting around the room doing this and that.

"Thanks for coming to visit everyone." Yoshika said happily as she sat down on one of the couches that had been set up for relaxation purposes. "Of course Yoshika, Its been really lonely without you i guess." Said her best friend Lynette.

"Yah if anything so you can see me kick Barkhorn at this game.. heh, 7 ball corner pocket, 8 ball side pocket." Shirley chanted out as she continued her game of Pool against Barkhorn, who was wringing her rod in frustration, Shirley was apparently walking over her in it, even getting two balls in one shot to win the game, while using the stick to shoot between her breasts, which Yoshika seemed to ogle from across the room. "So what was that about Karlslanders being the masters of Pool?" Shirley asked with a pleased grin on her face. "Shut up you..." Barkhorn growled and turned to Yoshika "Anyways, any luck in getting your magic back yet?" She asked her curiously.

Yoshika shook her head lightly "No, I cant even raise a shield or heal.." She said with a frown. Barkhorn put a hand on her shoulder "Don't worry, I'm sure they'll come back eventually Yoshika." She said encouragingly. "Yah.. I hope so." she said with a sigh, she really wanted to fly again.

Erika Hartmann seemed to be nearly passing out as she was walking over to a free couch to flop down for a bit of sleep, but as she started to get comfortable she jumped as she heard the loud warning siren go off. Minna soon burst into the door "Everyone! Battle stations!" She yelled as everyone looked at her with wide eyes "What do you think I'm kidding? Major Sakamoto just called in, a Neuroi hive is appearing near the Kasamura area, and all avaliable witches are to come assist." She ordered as everyone got up at the mention of a Neuroi hive, even Yoshika seemed to forget she didn't have use of her magic at the time as she started to head out with them, until Minna held up a hand "Sorry Miyafuji, please stay in here, don't worry, we'll handle things." She said as she pitied the Fuso maiden slightly. "Yes Commander.." Yoshika said sadly, as she knew without her healing magic she wasn't of much use for the time being.

"Be safe.." Yoshika said quietly to herself as she curled up on the couch as the base began to come alive with panic.

* * *

Yuki set out a small briefcase on the porch as the entire town started to investigate the cause of the siren. Aki yawned as she slowly woke up, standing by Yuki as he waited for Sakamoto to arrive "Dammit where did she go?" He asked quietly, and pointed as he saw her running towards them "Their on their way! The town knows what to do with that alarm?" She asked him curiously. "Yah, We were all taught to get out in a hurry if it went off... How far away are the forces?" He asked curiously. "It could be at least twenty minutes at the most.. at least for the ground forces, I'm sure the 501st is rushing here now, they're on a trip in Fuso." She said with a sigh.

She blinked as he rushed into the house "Where are you going?" She called out. "I have to get something!" He yelled back as he began to riffle through his room, grabbing more papers and the two guns that were in his desk. He rushed back out as he held them up. Mio gulped a bit "Your going to break your damn arm with those.." She said quietly as she saw him holding a pair of revolver magnums, the barrels had to be atleast 10 inches, and the gun looked huge in his hands. "Not if I'm using magic." He said as he put the guns into his belt. "Just incase i guess.." He mumbled mostly to himself.

"Where did you get those anyway?" She asked a bit worried for him. "Um, my dad left them with me when him and our mom went off to Gallia." He said as he looked towards the sky, where a small explosion rocked the ground a bit. "That felt like it came from Kaeru.. Dammit.." he growled as he looked in the direction of the most likely destroyed town. "So how do you kill a Neuroi? I didn't see any attacks from the air over there...So do they have ground forces?" He asked Mio like she was a expert. "Yes there are the rare ground Neuroi, and the way to kill a Neuroi is to destroy its core, what are you planning?" She asked looking at the strange but brave boy. "Just follow my lead.. Its incase one of them shows up.. which i think is likely.." He said as he closed his eyes.

"Brother your not planning to try and fight something are you?" Aki asked as she stepped forward, interrupting his concentration. "Aki, just go with the Major, I'll be fine." He said as he held up the guns "I'd like to see anything live after getting shot by these.." He said confidently, but inside he was scared stiff, and Aki probably picked up on that. She sighed as she started to walk behind Mio "Be careful Yuki." She said worridly. "Dont worry..." He said as he concentrated again. Mio first felt the surge of magic as on his head a small pair of auburn fox ears appeared on his head, along with a long fluffy tail that was associated with magic use. His eyes had also seemed to become burning beacons of anger, with the pupils slitted like a foxes.

Mio lifted her eyes patch as she peered into the nearby forest "Your right.. Somethings coming.. Its fast!" She said as the small black and red blur raced through the trees towards the town. Yuki looked around and saw most of the civillians were evacuating the town on schedule "Good.. I guess this will be my first battle... And it seems I'm the only one who can fight it right now.." He said as he now saw the blur coming at them. Yuki waited with both guns drawn and his feet firmly planted in the ground, and in a small flash the black and red honeycombed Leopard shaped Neuroi jumped towards him with a pair of claws outstretched ~Its fast!~ He thought as he quickly put up a barrier, a large green triangle appearing in front of him, the outside and inside of it covered in different runes, just like one of the drawings Mio saw hanging on the wall.

The Neuroi seemed to hit the barrier and with a push Yuki repulsed the animal like Neuroi back a good distance where it stared at him and began to slowly circle. "Hello you bastard...My name is Hiroyuki Masayoshi...Prepare to die." He said as he pointed the guns at the Neuroi. The Neuroi opened its mouth as it prepared a beam, but at the last second it turned its head towards Aki, firing the beam past Yuki. Yuki turned his head and directed a hand towards her, waving the barrel of the gun as he concentrated one of his techniques. A small group of shields appeared in front of Mio and Aki, they seemed to flitter about, and were about half the size of normal shields. The shields moved in the path of the beam and blocked the beam, one of the shields soon shattered after the attack, leaving about 4 left.

Mio blinked "What kind of spell is that?" She asked as the shields held their place in front of her and Aki. "Its one of my own designs, Using a bit more magic i can generate more shields then my main shield, though they're significantly weaker then a bigger shield." he explained as he pointed both guns at the Neuroi who was rushing towards Yuki again. Yuki pulled one of the triggers and a loud boom echoed as the magically charged bullet nearly hit the Neuroi, except it pulled to the side at the last second, though the shot grazed its shoulder, nearly making it crash. the shot hit the ground a small distance away with a loud boom and cloud of dust. The second shot exploded out of Yuki's second barrel, hitting the right side and shoulder of the Neuroi, blowing off quite a large amount of the beast, leaving it trying to regenerate on the ground.

Mio started to walk forward "Wait! We need to find the core!" She said as Yuki was walking up to it. "A little bit of payback at a time..eh?" He said as he pointed the guns at the temportarly crippled neuroi. It looked at him and seemed to be able to fire another Beam, until Yuki began to rapidly fire the massive handguns point blank at him, sending more dust into the air. As the dust cleared Mio saw Yuki with a look in his eye that could be best described as blood thirsty, until he regained control of himself. the Neuroi was no more, and was flaking away into the white dust that formed when they died. Yuki was panting after firing the barrage of magical shots.

Mio took a sigh of relief as she saw who was victorious. Yuki had enough time to put his guns away and give a smile at Aki before he felt immensely tired and seemed to collapse. Aki rushed over along with Mio, who checked his pulse "Hes alright.. It seems he just exhasted too much magic at once for his body to handle." She said. Her heart lifted as she heard the familiar sounds of striker engines. She looked towards the sky almost happily as she saw the 501st flying down towards them. Minna was the first to arrive as she looked at the situation "Mio! Thank goodness your okay.." She said as she hovered towards them. As the rest of the division flew in by them they all looked at Aki who was helping prop Yuki's head up under his briefcase. "Who are they? Hmm twins, reminds me of my sis." Hartmann noted as she flew down to get a closer look.

Mio smiled "I was out shopping for new recruits." She explained. Minna frowned "Are your detections skills failing you? I see only one possible witch, and why is that guy unconscious?" She asked frowning. "I'll explain later, for now we need to get these two out of here." She said as she looked around "Minna, can you and Hartmann carry these two?" She asked them. Hartmann shrugged lightly "Sure." She said as she zoomed down and scooped Yuki up to Aki's surprise. Minna smiled at Aki "So your a new witch? Hmm." She said as she picked up her quickly, holding back a laugh as the girl yelped and clung to her as they started to head into the sky.

Mio watched as they were being taken away from the battle zone. Hitching her own ride on Perrine, who was all but blushing and falling over from happiness. "Lets get out of here.." She said as she looked back as ground forces were starting to do battle.

* * *

Yuki's mind started to come back in a light fog ~Geez.. what happened..~ He thought as he lifted his arm to his forehead, where he felt a wet cloth over it. He was in a mostly dark room, but he could hear voices nearby. He turned his head a bit, lightly testing each part of his body, slowly sitting up ~Thats right... I finished off that Neuroi..and went a bit crazy..~ he thought as she swung his legs over the bed, he blinked as he noticed he was in a pair of mens pajamas ~Someone changed my clothes?...Urg...How long as i out?..~ He thought as he headed towards the cracked door where he heard talking.

"Mio, are you sure about this? I've never even seen a Warlock.. I thought they were a Myth.. " He he heard a women saying, she must be talking about the Major. "Of course I'm sure, he took out that ground Neuroi and used magic, Hes quite skilled for a novice.. though how he does in the air is a different question. I think the rumors about a genius magic user being around were'nt much of a rumor, Its a pretty apt description I feel." Mio said as she seemed to shift in her seat "Aki, We want you to join as well, of course your talent needs refining." She said smiling at the girl.

Minna blinked "The girl too?" She asked curiously. Mio nodded and looked at Aki happily "So what do you say Aki? Do you want to join the 501st? We're going to need help to get rid of these Neuroi over Fuso.." She said with a frown.

Aki frowned and seemed to struggle to bring up the courage to answer "I.. I'll join..but what about Yuki?" She asked curiously. As she spoke Yuki decided to make his entrance, he blinked at the sudden bright light, but looked around at all the new faces, and tried to not look like a fool in those pajamas. "I'll join too, If Aki is joining." He said in a determined voice. He looked around the room and gave a small bow "Thank you for saving me and my sister." He said formally. Minna pointed to Hartmann "Shes the one who carried you." Minna said with a her usual smile. Hartmann blinked curiously, her bright blue eyes meeting his green eyes "Thank you, My name is Hiroyuki Masoyoshi." He said to her happily. As he looked at her he noticed she was quite pretty, though most of the girls gathered in the room were pretty.

"Welcome, I'm Erika Hartmann, so your the Warlock?" She asked him curiously as she pointed to a empty seat at the long table by her. He took the seat and sat down "Yah, I guess I am.." He said as the gravity of the events was falling on him. ~I can already tell this is going to be a wierd day...or life..~ He thought quietly to himself.

* * *

Woo first chapter done =D Its just the beginning. Rate and Review please. =D Updated this chapter big so please reread if you have.


	2. Chapter 2

((Im sorry for taking so looong! Been very busy, and going to get more busy very very soon, so my writings may be on hiatus for who knows how long. Please enjoy Chapter 2 o3o, as a side note, I only put disclaimers in first chapters usually, as I find it ridiculous and unnecessary to repeat what is common sense on a Fan Fiction site.))

"Please welcome these new recruits everyone, This is Hiroyuki, and Hiroaki, they hold the rank of Sargent. Welcome to the 501st Joint fighter wing." Spoke Minna in her formal voice. Although she had a cold appearance usually, she actually seemed to be enjoying herself a bit, she must have been excited to have new blood in the squadron.

"You can call me Yuki, its a pleasure to meet all of you, I hope I can get to know you all." Yuki spoke calmly with a smile on his face, though Aki could feel that it was mostly faked, and that he was nervous as all hell.

"M-my name is Hiroaki, but you can just call me Aki, I hope to get to know you all as well." Aki said with a lot more fear in her voice, but it was easy to tell she was more shy than her brother was. She seemed to have a bit of trouble meeting people's eyes around the room, and for a second though that the blonde woman with the glasses in the corner was glaring at her, but she noticed she was actually glaring at Yuki for some reason. ~Odd.. He hasn't done anything..~ She pondered.

"These are your lock boxes, they contain your passports, other documentation, and your registered standard issue handgun, please take care of them." Minna said as she motioned for the two twins to pick up the cold metal boxes, which were heavier then they appeared. "Now we can begin to introduce you everyone." Minna said as she cleared her throat. "My name is Minna Dietlinde Wilcke, And I am your Wing Commander." She said as she gave them a pleasant smile.

Mio stood over next to Minna "As you already know, I am Major Mio Sakamoto." She said holding her thumb up towards herself, still happy over securing them for the wing, and quite obviously so.

The smaller blonde girl stood up and gave a small wave "I'm Erika Hartmann, Flying Officer." She coolly, giving Yuki a encouraging smile.

A well endowed girl, who had orange red hair stood up next with a smile "Welcome, My names Charlotte E Yeager, but you can call me Shirley, Nice to meet you two." She said pleasantly, she was also glad to have new people around, and they seemed like good kids to her.

The introductions seem to go well, going through everyone but Perrine and Gertrud, until the air tensed as the older looking blonde girl with glasses stood up, and she seemed to ooze a sense of superiority. "I am Flying Officer Perrine H Clostermann." She said putting emphasis on her rank.

"And I'm Flight Lieutenant, Gertrud Barkhorn." Muttered a slightly angry looking brunette.

Minna frowned quietly ~I wonder whats wrong with those two...Not like hes done anything...~ She thought worriedly. "Alright everyone, now that introductions are over, dismissed!" Minna announced to everyone. "Hartmann, Shirley, think you two could show these two around base?" She asked the two girls, she thought they would be nice to them, be good for them to get to get a friend or two at first.

"Sure no problem." Shirley said with a happy smile as she looked over to the twins. Erika seemed to have no problem with it either as she walked over with Shirley. "I guess we should start with where you two will be sleeping." Shirley said as she held out a hand to them, shaking both their hands.

"Thank you.." The two twins said in unison, both looked a bit worn out by stress, which was expect being introduced in front of so many new people, but these two members seemed alright.

Shirley seemed to pick up on their mood "Cheer up, come on, I think you'll like it here." She said excitedly. Hartmann was smiling at Yuki as if remembering something happy. "Guess I'm not the only twin here now, she wears glasses like you also." She mentioned as they walked.

"Really? I wonder how common twins are among witches, I'll have to research that.." He said as his hand moved to his chin in his thinking position. Aki chuckled a bit "I can already hear the gears in his head turning, loudly." She joked as Yuki looked up, snapping out of his thoughts, causing him to frown at her. "Aww be nice Aki, you should be used to it by now." Yuki stated.

"Well time for my favorite part of this base then!" Shirley declared as they marched on down some spotless corridors. Soon the air began to stink of motor oil and gasoline, with Shirley inhaling deeply as if it were perfume. Shirley pushed open a metal door with a flourish, letting more florescent light shine onto them, revealing a massive hangar that seemed to have been converted to a mechanical workshop, for Strikers and other vehicles. "Ahh.. I love Fuso Technology.." Shirley declared happily.

Shirley nearly dragged the twins over to where the striker units were being held "Aren't they beautiful?.." She asked as she pointed more towards one that had a bunny painted on it, "Thats my merlin, I have to say the best striker there is!" She claimed with a grin, daring anyone to challenge her.

Yuki got up a bit closer to it, starting to get curious about the mechanics of the device. "How does it work? Can I see a demonstration?, I'd like to get a hold of the blue prints.." He said obviously a bit excited.

Shirley blinked, but then grinned, finally there was another mechanical buff like her! "You do?

Most people don't take the time to learn how they work." She said as she walked up to the unit, opening it up giving Yuki a peek into the inner workings of the Striker unit's wiring. Yuki was soon busy peering inside and trying to figure out how it would fly.

"So Aki, what can you do with magic?" Barkhorn asked curiously as she turned towards the shyer twin. "Well, I'm decent at healing smaller injury's, and I have high stamina with it, it builds back up quickly also, although I don't have as fine a control on it as Yuki does." She said quietly, but Yuki was too busy to hear the compliment.

"Ack! Dont pull-" Shirley tried to yell as Yuki messed inside of the striker, evidently pulling on something that was not wise to pull on. In a puff of pungent black smoke Yuki was covered in dark exhaust. Yuki closed the hatch of the Striker unit carefully and stood up slowly, removing his glasses with a sigh, reaching into his pocket for a small cloth and began to clean his glasses. "This machine is cursed..." He said brushing himself off calmly.

Shirley shook her head "Well then.. Shall we- Oh Its the Major, Whats up?" the speed demon questioned as she noticed a distressed look on her face, as if she was brooding on something troubling. "Afternoon you four. I see you let Yuki find the strikers?" She said smirking at yuki who was coated in a fine grey colored dust from the exhaust. "I hope you two are adapting well here, We'll be in need of you soon enough i'm sure. We'll be starting your striker training tomorrow morning, before breakfast, 5am sharp." She said giving them a strained smile.

Yuki and Aki nodded "Yes Ma'am." They said in unison. As Mio turned on heel around and began to walk away yuki stepped forward. "Its destroyed.. isn't it?" Yuki asked quietly, his fists clenching as in his heart he knew the answer to that question. Mio faced the twins "Yes, I'm sorry it could not be saved, Though the townspeople were all evacuated safely." She said trying to at least improve the mood of the conversation, but she could see Yuki's visible anger clearly, she could feel that same intense blood lust coming off in waves from him through his magic. She looked at him sternly "Yuki! Getting angry right now will not bring that village back, we should be thankful the villagers were saved, that is whats important, if you want to stop the neuroi, then be here for training." She said softening her face to a more understanding look before walking away again.

Yuki quietly sighed, "How long will training take.. the longer it takes to learn the more people that will die.." He mumbled to himself as him and Aki locked eyes silently wishing to be stronger.

* * *

"Yaaaah! Dinner Tiiiime!" Yelled a frantic little pig tailed girl, who proceeded to fling herself into Shirley's chest as soon as she had sat down at the dinning table, garnering curious looks from the two newest members. But was quickly ignored as dinner started to be served. Yuki noticed a few of the girls even refused to look in his direction, namely Perrine and Barkhorn, He still couldn't figure out why they seemed to dislike him!

As he tried to concentrate on his food and figure out what their deal was, he felt a small pair of hands reach up from behind him and land on his chest, which he looked curiously at. They appeared to be feeling around in vain. "Miss Lucchini I believe you are after the wrong twin." He said calmly as he continued to eat, but inside he was quite amused, at least it was lively around here.

Lucchini released him and poked her head between the two twins between their chairs, looking from side to side at their chests. Aki looked a bit like a deep in front of a pair of headlights. "Auu..No difference." She said as she removed herself from behind them, and then quickly appearing back at her chair. How she moved like that Yuki would like to know..

Quite a few of the members looked close to busting up laughing, Lucchini's normal antics were quite common place, and most of them had been the victims of her at least once before. (Except for Mio, whom she is scared of quite Fiercely) But never have they seen her look so disappointed at a new arrival as she did as she sat in her chair, not even when Yoshika arrived. "Your targeting is off." Teased the redhead sitting next to the smallest member. "Oh well.. I still have these.." She said leaning over onto Shirley's chest from next to her, which Shirley didn't seem to mind. The twins wondered if it was always like this.

As dinner began to wrap up, the individuals began to drift off, exchanging good nights with each other, and good mornings to Sanya as she began to prepare for her night flights. Aki looked at the quiet witch curiously ~She looks so shy and fragile.~ She thought curiously. Aki stretched herself out as she peered at Yuki who was walking back from rinsing off his plate. He was looking better then before, inside and out, from earlier.

Yuki was getting ready to head to his own room when he felt a tap on his shoulder, and looked over at the Major. "Lets go for a walk Yuki." She said simply as she began to head towards the exit that led to the night air. Yuki began to follow along nervously, he wondered why she would want to walk, though talking would be more like it.

As they walked at a casual pace near the hangars. "If your wondering about why those two seem to dislike you, I don't think its anything you did." Mio said calmly as she gazed upwards at the star speckled sky.. "I see, do you know why then?" He questioned nervously. "Both of them are quite..Territorial is the best word for it...so the idea of a male witch seems to offend them in some way I believe, don't worry about it though, they'll eventually warm up after a while I'm sure." She said hoping the girls would actually do that.

"I see..Can I ask you something then?" He said nervously. She gave a slight nod of the head in response. "What do you think of the situation? I mean a male joining the strike witches.." He had a slightly brooding look on his face as he asked this.

"Well.. It certainly is out of the ordinary, but I don't find it a bad thing, what matters is your ability to preform, we need everyone we can get in a time like this.. " She explained as she looked sad for a moment. "So you and this Miyafuji both lost your ability to use magic?" He asked carefully, scanning her face. "Yes, back in the last conflict, though my magic had been weakening already, I had started to relay on a magic draining weapon, but Miyafuji gave up a promising career as a witch to save me when it failed me." Her face darkened a bit as she regretted having to be saved at the cost of such a promising witch.

"I See..Do you have anything left of that sword? I would like to.. Examine it If I can." He said as he straighted his glasses. He could feel the gears once again turning for him. "I do have its pieces yes, but why would you need to see them?"

"Because, to walk forward, one has to know what is behind him. I don't think magic is something so easily lost, its just my hypothesis, but even if looking at it doesn't help it wont hurt anything." He said quietly as the night air made a soft music with the ruffling of the trees around the base.

Mio's heart beat a few beats faster, "Alright, I suppose you can see it, but what are you getting at?" She asked stopping her walking as he quietly replied. She didn't quite catch it all the way, or her brain was not processing it right. "What did you say?.." She asked looking like she was going to explode. "I said, I want to research yours and Miyafuji's condition, If my ideas turn out right, You two may have your magic back."

(( End of this chapter, sorry for taking so long 3 I had to cut this chapter pretty much into thirds as the outline I had wrote out a while ago was quite long, and a super long going chapter isn't as easy to keep going as 3 well written well porportioned ones. So do not fret, I hope to write up more soon :3 shouldn't take too long since the out lines done.))


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